Bar soap dispenser



Feh 15, 1938. JE. WHEATLEY BAR SOAP DISPENSER I Filed June 14, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 John El Vfieaf/gy Pd. 15, 1938. J. E. WHEATLEY BAR SOAP DISPENSER FiLed June 14, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES Application June 14,

5 Claims.

The present invention relates tosoap dispensing mechanism and has for an object the provision of a highly efficient means for removing from an inaccessibly housed dry bar of soap individual usage quantities thereof in the form of fine film-like leaves or shavingswhich dissolve instantly upon contact with the wet hands of the user.

A further object of the invention to provide a simple and efiicient means to remove from any preferred soap bar the said eiiective usage quantities of soap, said means being adapted to embodiments in Various forms and designs appropriate to the locations in which they are to be used as wall fixtures and further adapted to portable forms of small size for the traveling kit.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means for economically dispensing any selected kind of bar soap in a rapidly soluble form and in a cleanly fashion, and whereby the unsightly soap dish is replaced by an attractive fixture which is capable of embodiment in many different shapes and designs.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wall type of the device of the invention, the ornamental cover being broken away to disclose the mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device of Fig. 1, part being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the mechanism of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a View taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2. 115 Fig. 5 is a view taken on line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of a feed assembly forming a detail of the device of Fig. 1.

Fig. '7 is a vertical sectional view of a small portable form of the device of the invention.

5%? Soap in bar form remains the most satisfactory form of cleansing agent that is universally used in the civilized world, although it is in some ways wasteful and productive of unsightly conditions about the places in which it is used.

Soap in liquid, powdered and other forms has found no universal acceptance by the public because of inherent objections to the character and quality of the materials and because the results secured therefrom by the average user are less satisfactory than from soap in cake or bar form.

It has been proposed heretofore to remove thin slices and granular particles from bars of soap by mechanical means but the means employed have not been extensively used because of difli- PATENT OFFICE BAR SOAP DISPENSER. John E. Wheatley, Norwood, Ohio 1935, Serial No. 26,638

culty in actual operation or dependency on atmospheric conditions.

The present invention avoids all heretofore known objections to soap dispensers and opens up a further field for such devices in the home and in fact in any places where soap is used non-industrially or where rapid dissolution of soap is required in any quantity.

The wall mounting type of dispenser of the invention may desirably be of the arrangement i shown in the drawings since this form is readily adapted to manufacture both as a high grade fixture and as'relatively inexpensive forms of dispenser. It is furthermorewell adapted to a large variety of ornamental designs and may be made 7 from a variety of materials suitable in appearance and price for different uses and markets.

The mechanism itself distinguishes essentially from heretofore known devices in the means and method of removing a definitely controlled amount of soap from a selected bar, in a form that is at once free from scattering and waste and that dissolves completely and instantly as it falls upon the wetted palm of the users hand or on any thoroughly wet surface. several forms is adapted to the use of bar soaps of various kinds in the slightly moist condition in which they are ordinarily purchased and used, the drying out of the bar does not result in a less effective form of the material dispensed. More specifically, a somewhat moist cake of soap will be dispensed in soft thin leaf-like shavings or films while an unusually dry cake of soap will produce a less cohesive dispensed product that is practically of the same useful characteristics as the former. The thickness of the amount removed from the'cake of soap is preferably of the order of a few thousandths of an inch (e. g. .002. to possibly .005). The ready solubility of the shavings disappears as the thickness thereof increases and for this reason, and also in order to discourage waste of soap by too frequent operation of the dispenser, the negative rake shaving blade is arranged in a very definite relation to the limit of movement of the bar of soap operated upon.

Ordinary means for cutting and scraping soap from the bar have been accompanied by either a frequent complete jamming of the cutter or an irregular gouging and chattering operation which produces Wide variation in thickness of the removed portion and hence the production of a relatively large amount of material that is not easily soluble and that is objectionable not only While the device in its I as to wastefulness but as a pasty solid that gathers about the use-rs fingernails.

In the several embodiments of the present invention, the controlled production of. soap shaving is effected by the use of a shaving blade that is perpendicular to the face of the bar of soap operated upon. This blade has a negative angle of rake on each side thereof so that it is operative upon movement in either direction, whether the blade be used for reciprocatory or rotary movement in either direction. For practical purposes it is deemed preferable to make the blade of substantially triangular cross section with an included angle between the negative rake faces of about 45 or probably less. The means carrying this blade preferably represents the limit of soap feeding movement and the scraping or shaving edge is above it by the several thousandths of. an inch necessary to push said edge a suitable distance into the soap. Having fixed relations between the soap and scraper, the means for holding and feeding the soap and for effecting the relative movement between the soap and scraper may readily be embodied in several forms. a

A desirable form of the device as a wall mounted fixture is shown in Figs. 1 to 6 wherein a substantially box-shaped frame Iii having outwardly oifset portions H in the sides 12 thereof is adapted to be secured to a wall !3 by means of screws M passing through back wall IS. A resilient bump-er it is provided near the bottom of said back wall to absorb the shock and deaden the metallic noise of a cutter slide ll which is provided at opposite sides with .guideway members l8 riding on the outwardly turned flanges IQ of an inner frame 20. Springs 2| anchored to said guideway member and said back wall l5 yieldably hold the cutter slide in retracted position against the bumper. The tension of these springs is sufiicient to permit ready withdrawal of, the slide by the pull of an operators fingers on the depending pull-flange 22 in a natural manner which leaves the open palm of the users hand in position to receive the soap shavings as they are removed from the bar of soap 23 above.

The slide 3'! is provided with one or more transverse apertures 2; which are crossed by the double negative rake shaving blades 25 which have the top edges extending a few thousandths of an inch above the top face of cutter slide I? in a manner heretofore explained. (This is shown in exaggerated relation in Fig. 4 for the sake-of clarity of disclosure.)

The inner frame, bounded by pairs of walls 20 and 26 is open at both ends, the topsof the walls 25 having slots 2'? therein through which the ends of a pivoted latch 28 may extend for removably securing a spring urged soap feed plunger assembly which operates on the soap bar 23 in the soap bar adapter 29 and holding the soap 23 against the top face of cutter slide ll and against shaving blades 25.

The adapter 29 for an otherwise standardized machine is substantially a hollow sleeve of any suitable material and of a cross sectional opening such that a bar of soap of given cross sectional shape may be used therein and held against lateral movement while guidedly advanced by the plunger 38. The adapter slidably fits in the inner frame. Plunger 3% of the soap feed assembly is supported on the sides of. its slotted cylinder 3! which houses spring 3!!) between its closed upper end and said piston 30. Lugs 32 struckfrom the ends of slotted cylinder 3| hold the plunger 30 against movement beyond the end thereof. The notches 33 occasioned by the formation of said lugs 32 and also the adapter 29 seat in place on lugs 34 on the bottom of inner frame 26 holding the bottom open end of the adapter slightly above the path of cutter bars 25. Latch bar 28 holds the entire assembly secure. The bar of soap 23 of rectangular, oval or other cross section rests on the top of cutter slide l7 and guides at its side edges, either wholly or in part on the adapter walls that are opposite the slots in the cylinder 3|. The legs 35 of the cylinder straddle the soap 23.

The entire device is adapted to be enclosed by a cover shown fragmentally at 36 in Fig. 1 and which may take any ornamental shape and may be finished in any desired fashion. The cover leaves exposed only those parts shown in the bottom plan view (Fig. 3).

Rubber bumpers 31 mounted conveniently serve to cushion the forward pull on member 22 during operation of the device. To fill the dispenser, the ornamental cover is slidably removed, whereupon latch bar 28 is turned about its pivotal mounting on stud 39 to release its ends from the slots 21. The spring 32 which was held under compression by said latch bar now pushes the soap feed assembly (shown in Fig. 6) upwardly so that it is easily lifted out to permit a bar of soap 23, of the proper cross section, to be dropped into the adapter 29. The feed assembly is then replaced and the end of plunger 30 engages the upper end of the soap 23. By pushing down on latch bar 28 until it reaches the level of slots 2'! and then turning it until the ends engage in the slots, the device is conditioned for replacement of the cover 36 and is ready for operation.

To operate the device, the user, after wetting the hands, reaches under the device with one hand and places the upturned fingertips behind pull flange 22. Pulling forwardly against the moderate resistance of springs 21 the cutter slide is drawn forwardly and the blade or blades 25 shave a very thin creped appearing leaf of soap which drops through apertures 24 into the wet palm of the hand. The springs 25 provide the return cutting movement of slide I7 and a further scraping of soap is delivered to the palm of the hand. The movement is rapid and easy and is repeated once or twice to deliver the desired quantity of soap. The thin, creped form of the soap produces practically instant dissolving thereof on the wet hands and enables rapid production of lather such as is obtainable particuiarly from the bar of soap used and does not appear to be considered obtainable from liquid or powdered soaps.

It is to be understood that while certain noncorrodible metals are deemed proper for the device, it is also contemplated that vitreous materials or materials finished with vitreous coatings may be used, and also that transparent materials may be used in parts, according to known methods of fabricating those materials into devices, where observation of the soap supply and/or of the operation of the mechanismis desirable.

In Fig. '7 there is illustrated a rotary form of the device which in this instance is made in small form suitable for the traveling bag in lieu of the personal soap box or container. It is to be understood that the device on a larger scale may also be adapted to wall mounting for rotary operation. This devicecomprises a relatively deep cover 46 preferably cylindrical and having corrugations 4| inthe circumference thereof. The cover 40 has an internal annular shoulder or flange 42 with a multiplicity of yieldable bosses 43 that cooperate with an internal ring 44 on the inner wall of a base 45 to provide removable connection of the cover and base and also permit easy relative rotation thereof. The base 45 is apertured and has a shaving blade 46 mounted across the opening therein, said blade 46 being essentially like the blades 25 of Fig. 4. The cover has a rectangular way therein receiving a small rectangular piece of soap 41 and the sides 48 of said way have oppositely disposed curved grooves 49 therein terminating in a circular well 50 in which a spring 5! seats for forcing a plunger 52 against the soap. Metal clips 53 are mounted for limited adjustment in the opposite ends of the way and form a means to accommodate slight variations in the dimensions of the soap 41. Screws 54 hold the clips in adjusted positions.

To fill this device the cover and base are pulled apart to disengage the bosses 43 from ring 44, then soap bar 4'! is placed in the way between the metal clips and the base is forced back into position. To operate this device the base is held upright with one hand and the cover is given a rotary or oscillatory movement with the other. The single negative rake scraper 46 cuts in either direction about the theoretical axes of the cylindrical device.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the invention herein is not to be limited to the exact details illustrated and described since they may be modified within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

i. In a soap dispenser the combination of a mounting frame, an inner frame thereon, a soap bar adapter slidable in the inner frame, a feed plunger assembly insertable in the adapter and removably connected with the inner frame, a cutter slide having an aperture therein mounted for reciprocation across the open "end of the adapter, and a shaving blade secured to the cutter slide and extending across the aperture therein, said blade having a straight edge and clearance faces extending uniformly from opposite sides of the straight edge and forming between them an included angle which is bisected by a perpendicular from the plane of the cutter slide through the apex of said angle.

2. A soap dispenser of the class described comprising a reciprocably sup-ported plate having an aperture therein, means fashioned and arranged to yieldably urge an inserted bar of soap towards the plane of the apertured plate and a cutter blade of substantially wedge shape cross section secured to the plate and spanning said aperture and presenting a continuous straight cutting edge slightly above the plane of the plate and to the advancing face of the soap said blade having clearance faces on opposite sides of said cutting edge and forming between them an included angle which is bisected by a perpendicular from the plane of the plate through the straight edge.

3. In a device of the class described the combination of means arranged to receive a bar of solid soap and to yieldably urge said bar endwise in a given direction, an apertured plate reciprocable in a plane perpendicular to the direction of movement of the soap, a rigid wedge shape scraper blade rigidly secured to the plate and extending across the aperture in said plate, said blade having a continuous straight edge and clearance faces diverging from said edge on opposite sides thereof and forming between them an included angle which is bisected by a perpendicular from the plane of the plate through the straight edge, and means for effecting relative reciprocation of the plate and soap, said reciprocation effecting movement of the straight edge across the end of the soap for removing film-like shavings of soap having a thickness of the order of one to four one-thousandths of an inch.

4. A device for removing and dispensing filmlike shavings of soap from a bar of solid soap comprising in combination a supporting guide for a bar of soap, means urging the bar of soap through the guide, an apertured plate reciprocably mounted transversely of the end of the guide and a rigid blade secured across the aperture in the plate, said blade having a continuous straight edge disposed slightly above the face of the plate adjacent the soap, and clearance faces extending uniformly and divergently from opposite sides of said straight edge and forming between them an included angle which angle is bisected by a perpendicular from the plane of the plate through the apex of said angle.

5. In a device for dispensing film-like usage quantities of soap from a solid bar of soap the combination of an apertured plate mounted to reciprocate in a plane across said bar of soap, means yieldingly urging the bar of soap toward the plane of said plate and a scraper mounted on the plate at the aperture therein for movement by the plate across the end of the bar of soap,

said scraper being triangular in cross-section and having a straight edge and clearance faces on opposite sides of said straight edge, said clearance faces forming between them an included angle which is bisected by a perpendicular from the plane of said plate to the apex of said angle.

JOHN E. WHEATLEY. 

